African Union Suspends Egypt Over Coup

The African Union has become the first international body to formally reject Egypt’s coup d’etat, announcing today that under the terms of its rules it is obliged to suspend the nation’s AU membership until the return of a democratically elected government.

Coups are pretty common in the AU, and suspensions and re-accessions to the union are not unusual. Egypt joins three other nations currently suspended over coups or other regime changes, with Central African Republic the most recent.

While the AU is emphasizing the need to do so in keeping its rules in place, the ouster of Egypt is unlikely to have a major impact, as Egypt’s economic ties are mostly with the Middle East and Europe, not the rest of Africa.

It may also encourage Egypt’s new junta to even closer ties with the Arab League, which “congratulated” Egypt in the aftermath of the coup and lauded the nation’s military for favoring the “supreme national interest.”